


Mike's greatest sacrifice

by Lekyl



Series: From Mike's perspective: Canon divergence [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Angst, Everybody Lives, Farewells, Gen, M/M, Mike Hanlon is a Good Friend, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, but Mike stays, departures - Freeform, leaving derry, mike let them go, objects left behind, young losers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27979050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lekyl/pseuds/Lekyl
Summary: Mike watched all his friends leave Derry. And he knew every time that they will forget everything.In the end, Mike stays alone in Derry. Brave but heartbroken.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: From Mike's perspective: Canon divergence [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112696
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	Mike's greatest sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! 
> 
> Here's my first work, and I hope you will enjoy it. I just imagined how each Loser left Derry, and how Mike felt every time. 
> 
> Please excuse my mistakes, English is not my mother tongue. But I hope there's not too many of them anyway! 
> 
> Enjoy !

Mike Hanlon watched all his friends leaving Derry. Every time, he knew deep down, that they would lose contact very quickly. 

The first one to leave was Bev. Not surprising, her aunt had learned what Bev's father was doing to her and was eager to keep Bev away from this man. She left near the end of the summer where they had defeated Pennywise - or so they thought. When Mike saw her laughing at Richie after Eddie accidentally slapped him, he knew that she was leaving their lives for good and that he wouldn’t see her laugh like that for an eternity. And it hit him, without any reason, she would forget the Losers and Derry.

And he was right. Two days after her departure, he found her lighter in his own pocket. And Bev never called them.  
Bev forgot them.

Bill left two weeks after her. His parents barely warned him that they were moving. They needed a fresh start, and it was understandable after Georgie. They were chilling all together at Richie's, reading comics, playing cards. Bill was drawing. Mike smiled at him and asked: “What are you drawing, man?”, Bill smiled back at him and answered, “You, losers. And Bev.”, Richie yelled “Aaaaw that's nice Billiam! Make sure you get my best profile!”, Eddie quickly responded, “you don't have one, dipshit!”, they all laughed at that and Mike looked at the drawing again. It was perfect. And he suddenly knew. That was the last time he will see Big Bill. He wouldn’t come back. A part of him was convinced that Bill won't forget as easily as Bev did. 

He was wrong. Bill left two days after that, and he called them when he arrived, to tell them it sucked and that he missed them. The day after, Mike found the drawing of Bill in his bag.  
That was his last call.  
Bill forgot them.

Two years after Bill’s departure, Richie's father got a new job in a new town. So, Richie had to leave. They all cried a little when they heard the news, but Eddie, him, looked like a piece of his heart had been ripped out. That was at this moment Mike had the confirmation that Eddie was oblivious that Richie was in love with him, just as Richie was oblivious that Eddie was in love with him. However, they had time to get used to the idea that one of them was leaving. The last day Richie was here, they all hung out in his empty house, letting Richie making joke after joke without beep-beep him. Laughing like everything was normal. Crying on the inside. If Bill was their leader, Richie was their heart. And he owned the heart of one of the Losers. When it was time to say goodbye, they all went out of the house, and Richie began to hug Ben, Stan, and Mike. He and Richie looked at each other, and Richie outlined a sad smile. Mike couldn't smile back, so Richie said, “See you around, Micycle.” And Mike finally cracked a smile. Richie squeezed his shoulder before going to see Eddie. They spoke for a moment in low voices before Richie pulled Eddie into a hug and held him tighter than ever. Eddie clung to Richie, crying, and it seemed to last for hours. And it suddenly hit Mike: Richie wouldn’t come back, too. He will forget too. It was just a matter of hours, days if they were lucky.

He was wrong. Richie called every week for months. Everyone of them. He wasn’t forgetting. He talked to them, remembered every little details of their lives. And then he stopped calling.  
Richie forgot them.  
Funny thing is it coincided with Eddie's departure from Derry. 

A few months after Richie left, Eddie announced he was leaving too. His mother had said that Derry was a dirty town, and that Eddie would be healthier in any other town. Eddie had told them he knew there was nothing dirty in Derry, but he had not won against his mother this time. Mike read the subtext, and understood that, in fact, Sonia was trying to leave for a long time but somehow Eddie had always managed to delay their departure. But Richie had left, and Eddie stopped fighting his mother. Mike felt such pain when he realized this, but he understood Eddie. Eddie would always be in love with Richie, even if he forgot. They managed to hang out as much as possible before Eddie’s departure, but they didn’t get the right to visit him the few days before. Sonia wouldn’t let them. However, they were in the neighborhood the D day, hoping to see Eddie from afar in order to wave him goodbye. They stayed for hours, but they saw no one leaving. They were about to leave, thinking that Eddie had left early in the morning and that they had missed him, when they heard someone running in. Eddie, out of breath, was standing before them. “I knew you’d be here guys! I’m so sorry about my mom, I really tried to come to see you!” They all let go of their bikes to go hug Eddie. They tried not to cry but failed miserably. After a while, they all began to hear Sonia screaming the name of her son. Eddie looked at them and had a sad smile. He handed his fanny pack to Mike. And he suddenly knew, Eddie will forget as soon as he will be out of the town and Richie would never call back. Eddie smiled and said “There are antihistamines in it. You need them more than I do.” Mike thanked him, and they all watched Eddie leave without saying anything else.

He was right. Eddie never called them. A few days after, Mike took the fanny pack to retrieve the antihistamines he needed. He found them inside, with an old pair of glasses belonging to Richie.  
Eddie forgot them.

Ben’s case was similar to Richie’s, his parents simply decided to move to another city to start their business. Ben was saddened at the thought of not seeing his friends again, but he was still a little excited because there was an excellent architecture program at the university in his new city. So, Stan and Mike decided to be happy for him. They kept smiling, laughing, and hanging out like before. The day he left; both of his friends came to say goodbye. These farewells were not sad, but not joyful either. They were used to it by now. Ben hugged them both to say goodbye. He looked at them and said, “I call you when we arrive!” And Mike knew. Ben will forget quickly, like Eddie. And there was nothing to prevent it. He managed to smile at Ben and nod. Stan and Mike watched Ben go in silence.

He was right. Ben never called them, although he promised to do so. A few weeks after, while he was tidying up his bedroom, he found Ben’s architectural drawings of shacks for the Losers.  
Ben forgot them.

Stan was the last one to leave. He was going to college, and his parents had decided to take the opportunity to leave Derry as well. Mike was heartbroken to let his last friend go, but this college was Stan’s dream. So, Mike helped him to pack all his belongings, he even helped Stan’s parents with the house. They spend every moment together, and one-night Stan told him, “I’m sorry. I know we never talked about it, but I need you to know that I am sorry.” Mike frowned and asked, “About what?” Stan answered “I will forget too. I know I will. They all had. I apologize for that.” And Mike knew. Stan was like Ben, Eddie, and Beverly. He will forget immediately. Mike held back his tears and nodded, “Thanks, Stan the man.” Stan laughed a little, and they parted ways. A few days later, Mike was standing in the street and was waving goodbye to Stan and his family. And just when he thought he was used to it, this departure hurt him so much. He felt empty, but he smiled at Stan anyway as he was leaving forever.

He was wrong. Stan called, and told him that everything was getting blurry, and that he was sorry, again. Mike found one of Stan's bird books right after the call. The last call of Stan. Because Stan never called back.  
Stan forgot them.

Mike ugly cried for days after finding the book. He realized he couldn’t leave, otherwise no one would remember the oath. So, he decided to stay.

This is how Mike ended up being alone in Derry. This is how he ended up being the only one to remember. This is how, heartbroken but brave, he let all his friends go to have a life of their own.  
This is how the watch of Mike Hanlon began.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, do not hesitate to give me a feedback!


End file.
